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"This survey of a century's worth of urban interpretations of Cairo through the lenses of Egyptian filmmakers proves once again the importance of literary and cinematic narrative for a true understanding of any city. Cairo has long had one of the oldest and most vibrant film industries in the world and emerges here as a fascinating locale for the genesis of a more complex, multi-layered modernity, as its films tackle social, urban, economic, and religious tensions and transformations.—Dietrich Neumann, Brown University

“The analysis of Egyptian films in this glittering collection of lively essays not only animates over a century of tumultuous social and urban topographical changes in Cairo, but also makes us see the movies in a whole new way. Through the melodrama, phenomena such as changes in gender roles, the mixing or separation of different religious communities, and the cultural role of the coffee house are illuminated, enriching our understanding of Africa’s greatest city and the center of the Arab film world. This volume is a significant addition to the burgeoning literature on cinema and the city.”—Chris Berry, King’s College London

"Through multiple methodologies and cinematic genres, the contributors to this volume erode boundaries between reel and real city, tracing the transformations of both under neoliberalism, religious fundamentalism and class and gender tensions, from the mid twentieth century to the first two decades of the twenty first. This is an important contribution, not just to the interdisciplinary literature on Cairo, but to the reading and representation of cities at large."—Samia Mehrez, The American University in Cairo

“Carefully dissect[s] the complex relationship between Cairo, the cinematic version of the city, and the Cairo that falls between the real and the reel.”—Al-Ahram Weekly

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